a major problem. Just look what they did on election night--ALTERING their own exit polls (Kerry won) to FIT the results of Diebold's and ES&S's secret formulae (Bush won) (--the 'TRADE SECRET," PROPRIETARY programming code with which they "tabulated" our votes).
The news monopolies thus denied the American people major evidence of election fraud, and squelched protests and calls for investigation--by giving us FALSIFIED ELECTION NUMBERS (the exit polls).
To my mind, it was the worst journalistic crime ever.
But there is nothing we can do about it until we restore our right to vote.
We need...
1. Paper ballots hand-counted at the precinct level (--Canada does it in one day, although speed should not even be a consideration, just accuracy and verifiability)
or, at the least...
2. Paper ballot (not "paper trail") backup of all electronic voting, a 10% automatic recount, very strict security, and NO SECRET, PROPRIETARY programming code! (...jeez!).
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See this URGENT ACTION thread re: Diebold in California!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5410364 ---------
Throw Diebold and ES&S election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!
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I believe that the American people are a lot more savvy, a lot better informed, and a lot more progressive than anyone gives them credit for. Check out the issue polls--huge majorities, way up in the 60% to 70% range, against every major Bush policy, foreign and domestic, over the last 2 years. The Iraq war, torture policy, the deficit, Social Security, women's rights--you name it. I believe the American people rose up and voted Bush & Co. out in 2004--and their will was thwarted by Diebold and ES&S (very easy to do with these highly insecure, hackable new electronic voting systems). Diebold and ES&S are far rightwing Bushite corporations, who, with the help of Tom Delay and other Bushite Republicans, and of naive or corrupt Democrats (including local/state election officials), pulled a fast one on the American people, and converted our voting system into this non-transparent, fraudulent mockery of a voting system so fast (2002-2004) that people could not catch up with it, and perhaps found it hard to believe that the system could be so easily and massively gamed, at the touch of a keyboard.
And they have not been helped by the utter silence of the entire Dem Party leadership on Bushite corporations owning and controlling the SECRET COUNTING OF OUR VOTES! Are these Dem leaders afraid or what? In their pockets, too? Beholden to corrupt election officials? In cahoots with the Bush regime to start a war?
Are they insane?
It's beyond understanding. The answers that leap to mind--for which there is some evidence--are corruption (lavish lobbying by the Bushite voting firms) and war profiteering. And maybe most of them LIKE the tax cuts for the rich. Most of them are millionaires, you know. They are not like you and me, as much as they try to pretend to be.
I'm pretty disgusted--I guess that's evident. I'm a 40 year Dem Party loyalist. And their selling away of our right to vote is a betrayal that is almost beyond words.
In any case, the relentless news monopoly propaganda is NOT WORKING. People are holding fast to their justice-loving, peace-loving, lawful, and ethical beliefs. But they can't get their will enforced. They have been disempowered, and, above all, literally DISENFRANCHISED.
So I think the priorities have to be in this order:
Priority #1. Restore our right to vote--re-establish the transparency of our elections.
Priority #2. THEN, we take on the news monopolies--with electoral power.
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We may be able to get the first accomplished even with the War Democrat that Diebold and ES&S may be thinking of selecting as our president in 2008 (for their own reasons--for instance, to start laying some of the blame of Bush's financial and foreign policy disasters on the Dems). Even a War Democrat has to pay lip service to good government, and progressive values such as transparent elections. That may be our one and only chance to reform the election system on a national basis. Otherwise it's going to be a long slog at the state/local level (probably more doable at that level anyway, because ordinary people still have some say at that level).
Currently, the American people have been deprived of their sovereign power--our right to vote--and, despite 58% disapproval of Bush's war in Feb. '03, before the invasion, had two pro-war candidates foisted upon us in '04, as our only viable choices. We also have been given NO CHOICE about NAFTA, GATT and the other "free piracy" agreements that have so transformed our country--and other countries--for the worse, and no choice on policies such as the Telecommunications Act, and the Reagan tax code rewrite. The Dems have sold us down the river on these issues, pre-Diebold/ES&S, as the result of corporate campaign contributions and lobbying.
Priority #3. A Constitutional amendment banning all private money from political campaigns. (It's time!)
There is a lot to do to restore our democracy. Huge, revolutionary changes are needed--that will involve knockdown dragout fights with our corporate rulers. But we can't even begin, without transparent elections.
So let us begin!